Fracking’s impact on air quality in Carroll County? More studies needed

Jon Baker TimesReporter.com staff writer @jbakerTR

Saturday

May 9, 2015 at 10:01 PM

WHY IT MATTERS: More than 1,800 horizontal natural gas wells have been permitted in Ohio since 2006, but until the University of Cincinnati and Oregon State University conducted a study in Carroll County in 2014, no studies had been done to determine the impact that natural gas drilling has on air quality.

Two researchers say that more studies are needed to determine what impact natural gas drilling has had on air quality in Carroll County.

An initial study conducted in 2014 found that levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) around active wells in Carroll County were higher than those sampled in Chicago, urban Egypt and near a petroleum refinery in Belgium. PAHs are organic compounds, some of which are toxic.

Erin Haynes, of the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati, and Diana Rohlman, of the College of Public Health and Human Services at Oregon State University, gave a presentation on the study to members of Carroll Concerned Citizens on Thursday.

Rohlman described it as preliminary. “We just wanted to get a flavor of what’s going on,” she said.

Before researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Oregon State University conducted the study, no one had published a paper on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, Haynes said.

The study was conducted in two phases.

In phase one, researchers placed 23 passive samplers on properties adjacent to or containing active wells in February 2014. The samplers contained plastic strips that absorb chemicals in the air. Three weeks later, property owners returned the plastic strips for analysis.

The results from phase one were released that summer and published in a peer-viewed article in March. The samplers were tested for 62 PAHs and 32 were measured in the samples.

The phase one results show that PAHs were highest in the air closes to active wells. PAH levels decreased when the samples were further away from the wells.

Because of the small sampling, the researchers said the study does not present enough evidence to answer the question of whether residents should be concerned about their health.

Haynes said the evidence indicates that there could be a slight increased risk for cancer — an additional two cancer cases for each 10,000 people.

But she added, “These models assume some very big things” — that PAH levels never change and that a person lives in the same location for 25 years and stays in that location 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In phase two, conducted in May 2014, six samplers each were placed around five wells in Carroll County at varying distances. In addition, 25 volunteers living in the county wore passive personal sampler wristbands to monitor what chemicals they were exposed to during an average day. The volunteers also filled out health surveys.

The results from phase two have yet to be analyzed. Haynes said she hoped to have data from the wristbands by early this fall.

“It will give us a more in-depth look,” she said of the phase two well-site data. “Rather than casting a wide net, we’re focusing on five wells. It will give us a better understanding of the air quality around the wells.”

She said it would be great to have more data, but that is a matter of getting more funding for more sampling.

Mike Chadsey, director of public relations for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, was critical of the study.

“I think there were a lot of assumptions, and that’s dangerous,” he said.

He said the researchers didn’t share much “because they didn’t have much to share.”

Chadsey stressed that the oil and gas industry has broken no environmental laws in Carroll County. “Our members are following the laws of the state and federal government.”

Paul Feezel, chair of Carroll Concerned Citizens, was pleased with the study.

“I think that for me, I’m really glad we’ve got this kind of analysis going on in the county,” he said.

He said he was “blown away” by the data showing the high levels of PAHs near wells, noting that many people in Carroll County live near five or six well pads.

“I was unpleasantly surprised at how much (exposure) they showed right off,” Feezel said.

Drilling of horizontal natural gas wells in Ohio has increased exponentially in the past few years. In 2010, only six wells were permitted, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. In 2014, 748 wells were permitted. Since 2006, more than 1,800 horizontal wells have been permitted in the state.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or jon.baker@timesreporter.com

On Twitter: @jbakerTR

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